So reader beware, you're in for a scare as we show you some of the best places to be spooked - and be sure to take some spare pants with you just in case...

GREYFRIARS CHURCHYARD - THE MACKENZIE POLTERGEIST

Tom Farmer/Daily Record

Greyfriars Churchyard in Edinburgh

This ancient burial ground has been dubbed the scariest place on earth. As well as being the resting place where the famous Skye Terrier aka Greyfriars Bobby came to visit, it’s also home to the late George Mackenzie and plenty of plague victims. George, a former Lord Advocate in the 1600s was nicknamed Bloody Mackenzie following his persecution of the Covenanters. Over the years, terrified people have reported hot spots, cold spots, cuts, bruises and burns as well as sightings of a white figure, unexplained smells, knocking noises, dead animals and more in front of the Black Mausoleum. An unseen apparition has pulled their hair, grabbed their legs and arms and hit them despite the area being been exorcised several times. Enter at your peril.

MARY KING’S CLOSE

Mary King's Close

Mary King’s Close consists of a number of underground closes which would have originally been very narrow walkways with dwellings either side sometimes rising up to 7 storeys. The close was abandoned in 1645 due to an outbreak of the plague where victims of the Black Death were sealed up to die, but some people refused to leave.

Many visitors have reported seeing apparitions of those that once lived and died there including Little Annie, a little crying girl in the corner. Visitors often leave dolls and gifts in the corner of the room where she was seen. Other people have heard scratching coming from inside a chimney where a child sweep is said to have died. Sounds of a party or crowded tavern are often heard.

EDINBURGH VAULTS

Edinburgh Vaults

The Edinburgh Vaults are chambers formed in the nineteen arches of the South Bridge in Edinburgh which was completed in 1788. As well as at one time housing living families, they reportedly stored the bodies of people killed by serial killers Burke and Hare and Stewart the killer sparrow for medical experiments. During the Fringe vaults are used for venues The Caves and The Rowantree but paranormal activity and ghosts have been sighted. Cold air and breathing have been felt over shoulders and the sound of children heard. During a radio interview a ghostly voice shouting 'go away" in Gaelic was also heard. It’s creepier the darker it gets...

EDINBURGH CASTLE

Callum Moffat/Daily Record

The spooky Edinburgh Castle

The castle, is a historical fortress, parts of which are more than 900 years old. It is connected to the royal mile by a series of underground tunnels and many ghostly apparitions have appeared there over the years. A piper was once sent to explore the tunnels and was told to keep playing so his progress could be tracked. However halfway down to the royal mile he is said to have disappeared without a trace as the music suddenly stopped and he was never found. It is said the piper still walks the Royal Mile and you can often hear him. The castle is also haunted by a drummer who only appears when the castle is about to be attacked. Prisoners of war and even ghostly dogs have also been seen here and the ancient dungeon also attracts spirits.

THE WHITE HART INN, GRASSMARKET

The White Hart Inn, Grassmarket

This may very well be central Edinburgh’s oldest pubs, and one of it’s most haunted. The cellar dates back to 1516 and supposedly entertained murderers Burke and Hare and poet Robert Burns who is rumoured to have stayed there on his final visit to the Capital in 1791.

Hair pulling, moving barrels, flying bottles, and music stopping has all happened unexpectedly and when the pub is shut you sometimes hear people walking about upstairs. Slamming doors and plates falling off the shelf have spooked staff, and customers claim to have seen shadowy figures and even taken pictures of a late prostitute who died there.

QUEENSBERRY HOUSE

Queensberry House

Now part of the Scottish Parliament, this 17th-century Category 'A' listed building in the Canongate contains the office of the Presiding Officer, two Deputy Presiding Officers, the Parliament’s Chief Executive, and other staff. From 1803 to 1996 the building was used as a hospital and in latter days Ian Rankin’s Inspector Rebus novel Set in Darkness was partly set here.

The most famous resident was James Douglas, 2nd Duke of Queensberry, who was influential in the Treaty of Union in 1707, and the building is said to be haunted by the kitchen boy roasted and eaten by him on a spit when he went mad. The oven is still visible from the parliament building.

THE PALACE OF HOLYROOD HOUSE

Holyrood House

The Queen’s official residence in Scotland is at the end of the Royal Mile in the shadow of Castle Rock and Arthur’s Seat. Mary, Queen of Scots lived here and her chambers are said to be haunted.

The oldest part of the palace, the 16th-century David’s Tower, is haunted by Queen Mary’s Italian secretary David Rizzio who was stabbed 56 times. There is a rusty coloured blood stain still visible on the wooden floorboards despite the fact the wooden boards have been replaced twice. Palace guards have also seen a figure in these rooms in the dead of night.

MUSEUM OF CHILDHOOD

Lonely Planet Images

Museum of Childhood

Old toys and dolls are always a bit of a nostalgia trip, but some of the scarier looking dolls in the doll room might freak you out. It’s not the room of dolls, however, that you should be worried about. During the times of the plague in the 1600s, children were sealed into their nursery by town council officials and left to die. Their mothers were locked in with them. Today, the museum is reported to ring with the cries of children late at night as you pass by.

EDINBURGH DUNGEON

Edinburgh Dungeon

This experience is guaranteed to put the scares up you and might be a bit more family friendly than the rest. Five hundred years of the capital’s dark history are crammed into one very scary space and delivered by a team of actors and spine-tingling special effects. Attractions include two heart-in-the-mouth rides: the Drop Ride to Doom, the story of Jack the ripper, a boat trip into the blood-spattered cave of cannibal Sawney Bean and new show The Green Lady, a haunting drama with spine tingling intrigue.

BRODIE’S CLOSE

Named after the now infamous Deacon Brodie, aka William Brodie, who led a respectable career by day as a Scottish cabinet-maker, a deacon of a trades guild and an Edinburgh city councillor - but by night was a burglar - this close is just by the castle and Royal Mile.

Robert Louis Stevenson was inspired to write The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde after Brodie, and Brodie is still reputed to walk this area carrying a lantern. Black horses pulling a coach have also been spotted here as well as another phantom, General Dalzell, who also rides on a white horse.

You may hear keys rattling here as Brodie strolls the grounds.

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